The following are the top stories in the Maltese and overseas press.
The Times of Malta quotes Austin Gatt saying he knew nothing of the €2,000 donation made to his electoral campaign by oil trader George Farrugia.
The Malta Independent quotes former AFM commander Martin Xuereb saying it was the duty of the Italian Navy to give first assistance in the Lampedusa tragedy last October.
MaltaToday says the PN has distanced itself from Austin Gatt. Simon Busuttil saying it was up to Dr Gatt to reply about a €2,000 donation made by George Farrugia to his campaign.
In-Nazzjon quotes PN General Secretary Chris Said complaining about the state of public broadcasting.
l-orizzont highlights the plight of an 92-year-old man who feels trapped in his home because of the stench from dogs kept in an upper floor.
The overseas press
L’Echo reports Eurozone finance ministers have met to thrash out final details of a new bank regulatory system amid still sharp differences over how it should work and who should control it. The talks are meant to produce a common position for negotiations later today when the 17 eurozone ministers join their 11 non-euro counterparts. The 28 ministers are in turn supposed to finalise an agreement to be then approved by EU leaders on Thursday and Friday to usher in the much-vaunted “Banking Union”.
Il Sole 24 Ore says Italy’s President Giorgio Napolitano has called on the European Union to make job creation for young people an ‘absolute priority . He said that for the most part, the EU had concentrated on fiscal consolidation and budgetary rigour. “Now it must resolutely adopt policies to boost employment and growth,” the 88-year-old president told foreign diplomats during a traditional exchange of Christmas greetings at the Quirinale Palace in Rome.
According to Kommersant, Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened his wallet in the battle with the European Union over Ukraine’s future, saying Moscow will buy $15billion (€10.9billion) worth of Ukrainian government bonds and sharply cut the price of natural gas for its economically-struggling neighbour. The announcements came after Mr Putin held talks in Moscow with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, who is facing massive protests at home for his decision to shelve a pact with the EU in favour of closer ties with Moscow.
Hurriyet announces that Turkish police have detained the sons of three cabinet ministers and several high-profile businessmen in a sweeping probe into alleged corruption that sent shockwaves across the country. The dawn raids targeted 49 people in Ankara and Istanbul accused of accepting and facilitating bribes for some construction projects.
The Sowetan reports that a squabble has broken out in Nelson Mandela’s family over his inheritance. Three factions are contesting, one led by Makaziwe known as “Maki”, daughter of Evelyn Mase, Mandela’s first wife, the second headed by Winnie and the last by his grandson, Mandla, head of the Mvezo clan in the late president’s village in the Eastern Cape province.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has once again asked Brazil for asylum with an open letter written to the country’s citizens. This follows a statement from Brazil a few months ago in which Brazil said the country had no intention of answering his request. As reported by the daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, which has published the letter, Snowden has decided to appeal to civil society.
L’Osservatore Romano reports four homeless people attended a mass celebrated by Pope Francis on his 77th birthday and later joined him for a meal. The four down-and-outs, who sleep rough on the streets around the Vatican, joined staff for the mass at the Vatican hotel, where the Argentinian cardinal has lived since his election as pope in March.
Ansa says a flood of protests following a shocking video screened during RAI’s TG2 on the treatment of migrants in Lampedusa reception centre. Minister for Integration Cécile Kyenge said such things were “unacceptable in a democratic state” while Chamber president Laura Boldrini described the treatment as “unworthy of a civilised country”. Harsh reactions also came from Amnesty International, Doctors without Borders, IOM, Aibi and the Red Cross. The film showed a number of male and female detainees stripped naked in the courtyard of the centre and then showered with cold water containing disinfectant to treat scabies.
Canal de Moçambique reports adultery will now be considered a crime in Mozambique and punished with up to three months in prison. The crime does not apply to polygamous families and will only be punished if reported by a partner who feels offended or in the event of flagrante delicto. Partners too will be charged and considered co-responsible and punished with the same sentence as well as paying a fine.
For The Advocate, the oldest magazine of the gay community in the US, Pope Francis is the Personality of the Year. His smiling face stands out in the December issue , with his citation of the Pope quoted: “If someone is gay and seeks the Lord in goodwill, who am I to judge?” The magazine said the pope was “the most influential person of 2013 in the lives of the LBGTs.
Meanwhile, USA Today reports President Obama has openly named gay athletes to the delegation that would represent the US next year at opening and closing ceremonies for the Winter Olympics in Sochi – sending a clear signal to Russia about its treatment LGBTs.